When Danilo Santos graduated from Ball State University in May 2007, he didn't go anywhere. He stayed on to finish his short movie.
"Taxy" was the result of Santos', 20 other students' and three Ball State faculty member's efforts over the past year.
Santos said he was in New York City in 2006 doing an internship when the idea of producing his own movie occurred to him.
"I was seeing that other students were producing movies and short films," Santos said. "I asked myself, 'Why not give it a shot?'"
Santos started writing the story and scripts himself. When he returned to Ball State, he shared his idea with his professors at the Department of Telecommunications, where it was welcomed.
"Taxy" is the story of Carlos, a Hispanic cab driver, who immigrated to the United States with his pregnant wife in search of the American Dream. Driving around a big metropolitan city, he meets a wealthy, high-class woman named Naomi who wants a ride. While taking her to her destination, Carlos gets involved in a conversation with the woman who tells him about her problems.
Santos said the end of the movie is ironic, and he used flashbacks to tell the story of both Naomi and Carlos.
Santos said after meeting Naomi, Carlos realizes that despite his and the woman's worlds being different, their problems are alike.
"I think the last minute of the movie is very powerful." Santos said. "It makes the viewer think about American Dream, which is not easy to achieve."
The 24-minute-long movie was shot in the Indianapolis area with the help of professors Timothy Pollard, Rich Swingley and Jonathan Huer.
The actual shooting took six days; however, it took the team a year to complete the editing.
Santos said Ball State faculty, crew and equipment helped reduce production costs.
"The production would have cost $24,000 if I could produce it the way I wanted," Santos said. "But it would have cost $150,000 if it was not for Ball State equipment and crew."
However, the final product was ready with a total cost of $3,000 that Santos put on his credit card.
Santos said it was a great experience but he didn't want to make money out of the movie.
"I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it," Santos said. "My next step would be a full-length movie. I am working on the story for that now."
Pollard worked on the project with Santos and said the movie turned out "wonderful."
"With the high-caliber of students we have here and adding the quality of the technical resources, the opportunity to create something special exists," Pollard said. "This is one of those times."
Considering the timeframe, and the usual 'hair-pulling' problems that occur in any production, the final story can stand up to any short film out there, Pollard said.
"Danilo should be very proud of his accomplishment," Pollard said.
Santos said the Ball State international student community enabled him to learn about other cultures and understand the differences.
"Hanging out with international students at Ball State made me want to be everywhere," Santos said. "I like to be part of different cultures to learn about them, so that I can tell stories through the movies I make."
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